The Sun Can Be Your Enemy
by girly tomboy
Summary: Okita Sougo had absolutely no idea how he had ended up watching an enthusiastic Kagura as she practically made love to the melting popsicle in her hand.
1. Chapter 1

**Anime: Gintama**

**Pairing: Okita Sougo and Kagura**

**Rating: T (Explicit Language and Mentions of Explicit Content)**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to the genius Sorachi Hideaki.**

* * *

The Sun Can Be Your Enemy

X

As Kagura idly sat in the cool patch of shade provided by the beach umbrella above her, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of remorse, feeling quite envious that she wasn't out having fun in the ocean with her surrogate family and friends. As the vermilion haired Yato observed them, she absentmindedly started fingering circles in the warm sand, drawing incoherent patterns before finally getting bored, releasing a groan of complaint thereafter.

_'Stupid Yato weakness.'_

During the start of summer, Otose had suggested a group gathering at the beach as a way to enjoy the beginning of summer, as well as bond with their fellow acquaintances. With that mindset, the Snack Otose and Yorozuya Gin-Chan, along with their humongous mutt of a pet, had set out into the sweltering heat, bringing along Otae and Kyuubei as well.

However, knowing the stalking tendencies of some all too familiar people, the Gorilla and Sachan had ended up following as well, valiantly confessing their undying love of both the lazy, silver permed ex-samurai and the older sister of the Shimura family, nearly risking their lives by doing so, thanks to the aforementioned recipients of the aforementioned love confessions.

Unfortunately, Kondo had brought along the bulk of the Shinsengumi as well, spewing crap about a much needed vacation for his subordinates, when in fact, he had used that as an excuse to spend time with Otae. And of course, who else would have tagged along other than that Mayora and the Sadistic prince?

As if having to see the bastard's face wasn't enough, Fate decided to screw with her even more. When the bunch had arrived, Sougo had immediately caught sight of Kagura, and in an instant, was over by her side, teasing and insulting relentlessly. It didn't help that the sun's rays were beating down on them all, sapping her energy away by the second. At first, she had raised up to his baits, retorting back with none so friendly mocks and insults of her own.

That mentality had been quick to backfire, however, when she found out that it only worsened her situation, and knowing the Sadist like she did, that was fuel to his fire. Instead, Kagura had opted to ignore him, adamantly turning away from his general direction whenever he approached her. Quickly, much to her pleasure, Sougo had found it futile to continue, and had silently walked away after his nth attempt, sleeping mask already in hand.

As Kagura mulled and fumed over how much the sadistic prince irked her, she failed to notice the pair of arms hovering over her head until she felt a light pressure atop her vermilion mop of hair. Glancing up, she was met with an overwhelmingly white material covering her vision, a tuft of silver hair poking out from the side. Twisting herself around, the Yato girl looked up at Gin, all the while fingering the material, which she discovered to be a large, flippy sun hat, a poorly hidden hint of euphoria threatening to burst as she suppressed a smile.

Gin, on the other hand, blanched at her childish behavior, languidly stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets and looking at his surrogate daughter lazily, almost on the brink of annoyance.

"Are you just going to stare at me with those puppy ass looking eyes? Gin-chan spent his money on this, y'know. Aren't you going to go out and play with everyone else? What are you waiting for, Kagura?"

The effect was instantaneous.

In a flurry of limbs and the flopping of a large sun hat, Kagura had all but dragged the older man to the shore, releasing a triumphant cry as she pulled the flailing man along, spit and sand welling up in his throat as he gurgled and choked.

"Gyaaah! Kagura, let Gin-chan go! He's old, y'know?! He might die any second now! Blegh-!"

"What the hell are you spewing on about now, Gin-chan? Who talks about themselves in the third person?"

Unfortunately for the silver permed ex-samurai, his pleas and cries went unheard, partly due to the fact that the sand making its way into his mouth as he was dragged across the beach, not unlike a rag doll, was impeding on his ability to form coherent words.

Nevertheless, he couldn't stop the bright grin from spreading on his face as he watched Kagura euphorically dance in the water, skipping and hopping as the tide rose and fell, an indescribable warmth welling in his chest as he watched his surrogate daughter, her startling cerulean orbs alight with mirth and playfulness.

Quite a distance away, a pair of crimson eyes observed their little transaction, trying to bore holes through the back of the older man's head. On the contrary to the two's content mood, the owner of said orbs was completely rigid, a scowl marring his otherwise smooth features as his irises lit up, an overwhelming irritation flickering and dancing in them.

* * *

Kagura had been jovially running around in the wet sand, utterly satisfied as she hopped to a nonexistent, upbeat tune. Gin-chan had long ago left, hastily saying that his old man bones couldn't take the exercise. Later on, she had approached Sadaharu, wrestling and jumping around with it as Kagura waded through the calf high water, careful to make sure that her sun hat was intact and atop her head. After quite a while, her inugami pet had worn itself out, and had trudged out of the salty water, currently resting underneath the shade of the umbrella. The vermilion haired girl but shrugged and continued on, not minding in the slightest.

That is, until she felt a tight grip on her loose hair, for once not braided into two buns, as a large hand yanked her backwards by the head, making her fall on her bottom on the wet sand. Just as she was about to swear the person out, a malicious grin, followed by two equally malicious pair of crimson eyes invaded her peripheral.

Immediately, Kagura blanched, for she knew all too well who that person was, and how much pleasure he received from causing her pain.

_'Damn. It's the Sadist. And here I was hoping he had drowned already.'_

"What the hell do you want?" The Yato girl shot at him venomously, contempt evident in her eyes. Sougo, however, seemed quite unfazed, even lightly smirking at her dismay at his appearance.

"How mean of you, China. You'll really break this poor officer's fragile heart Why else would I here?" The Shinsengumi officer sarcastically questioned, an underlying hint of amusement sprinkled in as well.

Kagura was absolutely fuming at this point, and had resorted to insulting him and calling him names, the two quickly engaging in their routine battle, each side taking their offensive stances. On a mental count to three, the duo had lunged at each other, murderous intent clear in their unwavering eyes.

As the vermilion haired Yato tried to drop kick her opponent, he grabbed hold of her petite leg and spun her around before slamming her face first into the sand. During the process, he had shot his arm out and had snatched the sun hat away from her, leaving her head and face exposed.

The young man stood there triumphantly, basking in the fact that he had bested the China girl for the nth time.

Smirking victoriously, Sougo sauntered to the fallen girl, fully prepared to boast in her face. When he approached, however, Kagura had still yet to move, her still frame sprawled on the sand. He waited for a whole five minutes, staring observantly at her. Irritated at her lack of response, the flaxen haired man promptly kicked sand in her direction, even going so far as to aim directly at her face.

"Oi. Oiiiii, China girl. Are you dead? Just because of that? Hah, how pathetic. Hey, get up. We're not finished yet."

As much as Sougo taunted her, the young Yato girl had yet to give any inkling that she was getting up. Much to the flaxen haired officer's annoyance, he lazily strolled over to face her head, prepared to attack her with a barrage of verbal insults, and, if need be, physical ones as well.

Seeing as Kagura's face was still pressed against the sand, Sougo grabbed her by the scalp and harshly twisted her head around, so as to face him, who had situated himself on the vermilion haired Yato's side.

He was met with half-lidded, dazed cerulean eyes, her striking orbs shifting focus between him and the sand. Her forehead and neck were quickly forming sweat, the beads dripping down her face constantly. Her mouth was contorted in an agape circle, ragged breaths coming out of it as her chest heavily heaved up and down.

The flaxen haired young man was obviously at a loss for what to do. He had honestly never seen the usually brazen, hot tempered girl in front of him so vulnerable. He speculated that the cause of her collapse had to do with her sudden exposure to the scorching heat and sun, for he knew that that was the infamous Yato clan's seemingly only weakness. As Sougo leaned in closer to further inspect Kagura, he tried to quench the erupting burst of concern that welled in his chest at seeing such a pained expression on the Yato girl's face.

Gently, he leaned forward and nudged Kagura's shoulder with his hand, slightly shaking it in the process. Still, there was no response. This time, he repeatedly tapped her head, wondering if that was going to do anything.

"China beast, get your sorry ass up. You're attracting attention by laying there, you circus freak." True to the Sadist's words, they were in fact gaining attention, a crowd of beach goers forming in a ragged circle some distance away, staring curiously at the pair ahead. After all, it wasn't every day they saw a dainty little girl laying face down in the sand, looking like she was on the brink of death.

Sougo, despite his nonchalant expression as he poked and prodded the vermilion haired girl, was belying the inner turmoil he felt arising, his concern slowly spread with each and every nudge, each with no response or acknowledgment from the girl in front of him.

"G-Get me o-out of this damn heat..." Kagura's voice was faint and strained, but Sougo heard it clearly. Immediately, he hovered over her small frame, arms outstretched. The Shinsengumi member hesitated for a split second however, due to the fact that he was a true Sadist by nature, and his willingness to help someone, that someone being his _rival _no less, slightly unnerved him.

Unfortunately, that split second was all it took for Kagura to finally lose to the sweltering heat. Her half-lidded, cerulean eyes shut tightly as she lost consciousness, the dehydration and exhaustion catching up to her. Mush to Sougo's consternation, however, the Yato girl's condition ceased to improve, her breath still coming out in ragged puffs even after she had fainted.

Hastily, the flaxen haired young man lifted the unconscious Kagura by the arm, draping it around his shoulder as he dragged her lightweight body under the beach umbrella she had occupied earlier. Timidly, he lowered her onto the towel placed underneath the patch of shade, making sure the sand didn't touch her frame. Although her convulsing seemed to lessen, she was still panting heavily and was fidgeting, her discomfort obvious to anyone who looked.

As Sougo observed her, he clenched his fists in panic, his right hand still gripping tightly to her forgotten sun hat, which he had now realized was still in his possession. All of a sudden, he couldn't contain the surging guilt that flooded his senses. Making up his mind, the flaxen haired Shinsengumi officer gently laid Kagura's hat beside her head, before turning around and searching for the nearest shop, intending to buy something to cool the suffering vermilion haired girl down.

As he ran toward the nearest snack shop, money in his pocket, he couldn't squash the inkling of just when the hell that stupid, idiotically brazen China beast had started to occupy his mind so damn much.

* * *

Sougo himself was on the brink of passing out as well when he returned to where Kagura was lying, a cold drink in one hand and a popsicle in the other one, sweating and panting, partially due to the heat, and partially because he had sprinted to and from the shop in almost 100 degree weather, for fear of the popsicle melting before he came back.

The sight he was met with when he arrived, however, had irked him more than it should.

Underneath the umbrella lied Kagura, who was still very much unconscious, the distinct furrow of her brows indicating that she was still in pain. Next to her, however, was _Danna _himself, sitting cross legged beside the girl and gazing at the ocean. The thing that annoyed the younger male was the fact that the silver haired perm head was fondly stroking her head, trying to calm Kagura down.

Sougo, although he was aware of China's relationship with _Danna, _what with him being her surrogate father and all, didn't exactly bode well with the older man by Kagura's side, _alone_. Sadists were quite selfish and jealous by nature, after all. Quickly, the Shinsengumi member made his way over to their direction, a seemingly nonchalant expression plastered all over his face, effectively belying his inner frustration.

As he approached the two, he had completely missed the pair of two onyx eyes observing him intently from his peripheral, lighting up in hidden curiosity as he witnessed the boy's eyes glint with a hint of determination, mixed with annoyance the more he came closer to the vermilion haired girl and her surrogate father. After a brief moment, the aforementioned owner of those onyx orbs looked away, back towards the ocean. Silently he brought a cigarette to his lips, inhaling the substance before slowly puffing out, a steady stream of smoke wafting and spreading outwards.

_'This brat is as dense as the girl he's trying to woo.'_

* * *

_ "Danna, _Here. These are for China. She passed out from the heat," Sougo muttered when he neared the duo, his hands outstretched as he tried to hand the drink and melting popsicle to the older man, his crimson orbs blank as they looked at each other. During the span of mere seconds in which he walked towards the two, he had realized how utterly _stupid _his train of thought was, and mentally chastised himself for acting so out of character, so _un-Sadist like._

Still, the flaxen haired male couldn't help but feel a pang of irritation in his chest as he leaned down to hand the food over. Unbeknownst to him, however, Gintoki had immediately caught onto his reluctance, and dare he say it, jealousy. It was to be expected after all, seeing as the silver haired perm hair was a master at reading behaviors. The older man silently chuckled in amusement as he observed Sougo, obviously relishing in the younger male's disdain.

_'Tch. Kids these days have absolutely no idea what they're doing when it comes to love. Although, I do have to admit it's pretty creepy how Souichirou-kun should even be jealous of me in the first place. Just because I have fish eyes doesn't automatically make me a desperate lolicon! I', practically an old man now!'_

"Aren't you going to take them? The popsicle is about to melt," Sougo suddenly interrupted, halting Gintoki's inner rant and startling him a little. They looked at each other for a tense moment, before the older, silver haired perm head borught his hand up and waved his hand in a sideways motion, all the while shaking his head in rejection.

"Why should I? You're the one that bought it, right, Souichirou-kun?" Gintoki lazily drawled out his sentence, a neutral expression on his face. He did, however, glance at Kagura, and, much to Sougo's initial shock, began to heave himself up, intending to walk away_. "_And also," he continued. "By the looks of it, you get to feed it to Kagura too. She's starting to wake up. Although, she still might not have her usual monstrous strength, what with her still recovering and all," Gintoki finished, motioning to the vermilion haired girl. When the flaxen haired member looked at her, she was indeed starting to stir, her eyelids fluttering erratically as slumber started to lose its grip on her.

When Sougo looked back up at Gintoki, the older man was already halfway to the ocean, casually strolling forward and calling out the Glasses' name, completely done with their conversation. Although the Shinsengumi member was confused at the man's actions, he quickly brushed it off and focused his attention back to Kagura.

Cerulean orbs met crimson ones, the former blinking in a dazed stupor and the latter staring at the former with slightly widened eyes. Quickly, Sougo reverted back to his blank facade, watching as the girl before him unsteadily pushed herself up, releasing a yawn and rubbing her eyes, an adorably confused expression on her face. The two of them sat in silence, staring at each other, until finally, Kagura seemed to snap out her sleepy daze and yelled a cry of indignation, startling the flaxen haired man in front of her.

"Ahh! It's you, Sadist! What the hell are you doing here?!" Immediately, the vermilion haired girl's eyes lit up in contempt, and her stance, although somewhat lopsided and clumsy, became guarded as she regarded him with the fiercest snarl her exhausted body could muster.

The effect was quite the opposite however.

Sougo, on the other hand, was feeling quite amused and chuckled aloud as the girl in front of him stared at him incredulously, a demanding question on the tip of her tongue. Seeing as Kagura thought she could interrogate him even though she herself was almost about to pass out again, the flaxen haired male couldn't help but let out another jovial chuckle, observing her through half-lidded, crimson eyes.

In an instant, Sougo unwrapped the plastic covering the popsicle and had shoved the frozen treat in Kagura's mouth, watching as she instinctively sucked on the melting substance, her throat convulsing to show that she was swallowing the liquid. Surprisingly, her eyes lit up in delight as she reveled in the coolness of the popsicle, grabbing hold of the stick at the end and pulling it out of her mouth.

"This is good! Did you buy this, Sadist? Thank you!" Kagura graciously replied, a bright smile on her face as she continued licking and sucking the popsicle, paying no heed to the melted liquid dripping down her hands. Sougo, for the life of him, couldn't make out the sudden pounding in his chest nor the intense flutters in the pits of his stomach as he observed her eating the treat.

Suddenly realizing where his thought process was going, the flaxen haired male quickly averted his gaze, for fear of doing something rash and out of character to the vermilion haired female in front of him. Even so, he couldn't help but notice Kagura in his peripheral, the image of her pink lips agape and her tongue darting out to swirl itself around the tip of the popsicle forever ingrained in his mind.

_'What the hell?! Why am I thinking of China like this? It's fucking gross. That brazen, unsophisticated, stupid China beast should just rot in hell,' _he silently mused, trying his absolute best to convince himself that she was nothing more than an annoying thorn in his side.

Although, that thought flew out of the window the moment she started to groan in disappointment at having just finished the popsicle, and was begrudgingly licking the sticky liquid off her fingers, sucking and leaving a trail of saliva extending from her mouth.

If Kagura kept at it, Sougo doubted he could restrain himself any longer, his fingers twitching in annoyance. Absentmindedly, he sipped on the drink in his other hand, completely forgetting that it had been originally meant for the vermilion haired Yato practically making love to her fingers right in front of him.

"Are you done making out with yourself now, China? And here I thought you were in some serious condition," Sougo sarcastically drawled out, exasperation evident in his eyes as he stared at her with a bemused expression, trying not to focus on the fact that the vermilion haired Yato was still sucking on her fingers.

_'This China brat will be the fucking death of me someday.'_

"Oi, Sadist. Why are you spacing out? Has the sadist in you died?"

Kagura's voice was a breathy questioning, her lips near his ear as she leaned forward, curiosity in her cerulean orbs. Sougo involuntarily shivered when her breath made contact with his earlobe, shock evident on his features as the vermilion haired girl's face came closer to his.

In fact, it was way too close.

The vermilion haired Yato was in such close proximity that he could see her eyelashes flutter as she blinked, and had quite a clear view of her supple, pink lips, unconsciously agape as she observed him expectantly, waiting for his answer. Sougo was so damn close to pushing her away, as to save at least some of his dignity, but the damn China beast was making it near impossible.

When she leaned in even closer, however, and he caught a whiff of her distinctly sweet scent, mixed with the salty smell of the sea, his sanity snapped.

In one fluid motion, Sougo had cupped her face tightly, and had forced it towards his own, clashing in a mix of teeth and lips. Kagura sat there, dumbfounded and wide-eyed, clearly at a loss for what to do. The flaxen haired male used that to his advantage as he passionately kissed and nibbled, soon forcing his tongue into her warm cavern as he ravished and explored her mouth. At the odd sensation in her mouth, the Yato female gasped in surprise, a strangled whimper escaping her throat.

It did nothing to hinder Sougo as he continued to kiss her, feeling her slowly start to oblige. He was sure as hell grateful that Kagura was so unused to the concept of kissing, and was in no mind to resist, and no resisting meant that she couldn't hurt him in any way to force him away. At least not yet.

The moment was short lived, however, when Kagura started to thrash about, the first hint of struggle evident. In a panic, Sougo gripped her shoulders tightly, using his body weight to push her onto the soft sand underneath her, their lips never breaking contact. He then used his legs to pin either sides of her waist, completely preventing movement.

Slowly, he lowered his hands down to her own, caressing her arms during the process. When they had clasped hands and their fingers interlocked, Sougo released Kagura's lips in an exaggeratedly swift motion. Both parties were gasping for air, their chests simultaneously heaving up and down.

As the flaxen haired young male looked down at his counterpart, her eyes half lidded, her hair sprawled outwards, and her chest moving in rhythm with his, he couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that he now had her in his grasp, seeing as she wasn't trying to resist anymore.

Sougo brought their interlocked hands up to his face, moving his larger hands so that they were wrapped around Kagura's palms instead.

Slowly, sensually, he began to lick her slender fingers, getting rid of any remnants of the sticky popsicle that had melted earlier. He dragged his tongue over each individual finger, swirling and sucking on them to his heart's content. Never once did he look away from the vermilion haired girl, the forthcoming of a condescending smirk flitting across his bishounen features as he watched her cheeks progressively burn brighter, spreading all the way to her ears, incoherent, half-assed protests coming from her mouth.

"Ngh... S-Stop... Sadist..."

"I'll stop when your hands are all clean."

"Damn bastard... G-Gyah..."

When Sougo deemed her hands completely rid of the sticky substance, he gently released them and once again hovered over Kagura's smaller frame, this time a full blown smirk plastered across his face. Promptly, he leaned over her ear and blew into it, causing her to shiver.

"Hah, who would have thought your reaction to me pulling that ugly sunhat from you was this. Although, when you passed out, I was kind of worried. If I had known that you were going to be so prone to fainting when exposed, I would have used that to my advantage ages ago," Sougo chuckled out.

All of a sudden, something seemed to click in Kagura and she stilled, her form rigid and her face obscured. Sougo, sensing that the mood had changed, most certainly because of him, dared to look down, only to be met with the vermilion haired Yato's bangs covering her eyes.

"China...?"

"You... did that on _purpose_? To see my reaction...?" Her voice had an underlying steely edge to it, warning Sougo that if he didn't get the fuck away in two seconds flat, there was definitely going to be hell to pay.

"What are you bitching about, China? It's not like you died," the flaxen haired Shinsengumi member commented, belying the anxiety he felt and preparing to bolt right then and there.

"... You damn bastard! I could have actually died, y'know! I'll fucking kill you!"

Poor Sougo barely had time to react before he felt a heavy pressure on his head, and all went blank.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize if I seem like I haven't been posting; this week's schedule had been so busy that I didn't have enough time to finish the story quicker. Anywhoozums, I hope the slightly longer length makes up for it. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Anime: Gintama**

**Pairing: Okita Sougo and Kagura**

**Rating: T (Mildly Explicit Language)**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to the genius Sorachi Hideaki.**

**A/N: I hadn't planned to, but this is somewhat of a continuation of the story.**

* * *

The Sun Can Be Your Enemy

Chapter 2

X

It was yet another agonizingly sweltering day as Kagura groaned in complaint, sweat beads trickling down her pale skin as she tried to fend off the penetrating heat of the sun with her trademark purple parasol, but alas, to no avail. Even though it provided a patch of shade from the blaring rays of the sun for the vermilion haired girl, it did nothing to block the stifling heat.

Heaving another sigh, Kagura tried to rest her head onto the back of the park bench she was occupying, her signature parasol leaning on a shoulder as the aforementioned girl shut her eyes tightly, trying to will the heat away. As she laid there, she couldn't help but mull over how she had been in this situation in the first place.

_'Oh, right. It's because of stupid Gin-chan and that useless Glasses taking on a customer's request even though it's practically melting outside.'_

Don't get her wrong. The Yorozuya, Gin and Shinpachi included, would have infinitely preferred staying in the cramped space that was there office and home, for even that place had a fan to attempt to cool them off, as opposed to being stuck outside, under the direct glare of the sun. The only reason the Yorozuya trio had begrudgingly agreed was due to the fact that their customer had offered to pay three times worth their rent for finishing the job.

Poor Gin-chan couldn't resist the prospect of earning all that money. And of course, blowing it all on _pachinko _and strawberry milk.

And so with that mindset, the silver haired perm head had dragged his two resisting members out of their office and into the open expanse outside, muttering curses and swears about how "_Gin-chan is too old for this" _and _"You damn ungrateful brats. Get your asses outside already."_

After nearly spending the late morning trying to convince his younger members to take care of the customer's request, Gin had finally managed to force the adamantly complaining Shinpachi and Kagura outside, although by the end of it, Gin himself looked like he was on the verge of collapsing.

Luckily, their destination wasn't too far away from the Yorozuya Gin-Chan. As fate would have it, the trio had ended up near Kabukicho Park, and their vermilion haired female member used that to her advantage and surreptitiously sneaked away to slack off, chuckling to herself as she watched her surrogate father talk about some boring business with the customer.

Unfortunately, it was just as scorching at the park, the sun having no discrimination as to what its rays burned down upon. Heaving an exhausted sigh, Kagura had sullenly trudged over to a park bench, having nothing to do but swear at the weather.

Currently, she was looking around the nearly deserted Kabukicho Park for an ice cream vendor, or anything cool really. But alas, it was futile, for no one in their right mind would ever step out into the sun when it was on its period, such as days like this.

_'Sadaharu's so damn lucky. Stupid Gin-chan made him stay home,' _Kagura mulled silently. When the trio had received the request, their oversized mutt had been blissfully slumbering away. Gin had ultimately decided that waking the inugami pet up was too much of a hassle, so they had promptly left without Sadaharu.

_'So now, not only is it so damn hot outside, but I don't have anyone to play with.'_

Kagura, after begrudgingly accepting the fact that she was going to be alone and bored_, _and having absolutely no energy to move somewhere cooler, decided to just recline back into the bench, her bright cerulean eyes half-lidded as she attempted to doze off, trying to create an asylum for herself from the blistering heat. Soon enough, she felt the strong pull of slumber embracing her, and she gladly welcomed the pitch black darkness.

* * *

To say that Okita Sougo was pissed when he found out he was stuck on patrol was an understatement.

He was downright _enraged._

Not only did that Hijikata bastard assign him on patrol duty, the conniving mayonnaise addict had to pick one of the hottest days Edo has ever experienced to do it. Sougo had been planning on napping the day off, trying to escape the heat, when all of a sudden, Hijikata had barged into his room, kicked him awake, and had bluntly stated that he was going to be patrolling the Kabuki District for the morning until afternoon. Alone.

There was going to be hell to pay.

_'Poisoning that fucker's mayonnaise isn't going to be enough. When I come back, I swear I'll make that Hijibastard's death the slowest, most agonizingly painful death ever. Now that I think about it, I'm running low on torture devices. Better go stock up.'_

Currently, Sougo was mulling over Hijikata's painful death by his hand, his mind conjuring up horrendous ways to do so, all the while trying to fend off the sun's glaring rays as he languidly strolled around Kabukichou, ever the one to slack off. The flaxen haired officer had long since abandoned his patrolling duty, and was now just trying to find adequate shade for himself.

Unfortunately, nearly every place he came across was either closed or crowded with denizens trying to escape the heat. Having wanting nothing to do with encountering such sweaty, disgustingly sweltering civilians, Sougo had opted to wander around somewhere else, trying his damnest to find shelter from the heat and sun.

In his silent mulling, the young man had unconsciously ended up at the deserted Kabukichou Park. Snapping out of his reverie, Sougo unhesitatingly stepped into the local park, hastily trying to find a decent patch of shade to rest under.

After a couple of minutes, the man found a perfectly adequate tree to rest under, its leaves billowing slightly in the small, humid breeze. He was just about to step forward when suddenly, a peculiar sight appeared in his peripheral vision, catching his attention. When he turned around to look at it, his eyes widened just a fraction before a sadistically malicious smirk spread itself across his features, his immediate change in behavior evident.

Right in front of him was China, his number one rival and second on his To-Kill List right after Hijikata, peacefully slumbering away, looking all the vulnerable and unguarded girl she was often mistaken for.

"Hah. That stupid China, sleeping so damn obliviously when her rival is right in front of her," Sougo chuckled lowly, already walking over to the vermilion haired girl, cautious not to disrupt her slumber with his loud footsteps lest she wake up and notice him.

When the Shinsengumi member approached her, he leaned down to eye level and observed her serene expression as she slept, paying no heed to the feverish temperature around her. Her eyelashes unconsciously fluttered as she inhaled and exhaled, her chest rising in unison.

_'Huh, not bad. China Beast actually looks like a normal girl when she's sleeping.'_

For some odd reason, Sougo was reminded of that time at the beach a couple weeks prior, when he had yanked off her sunhat and that, in turn, had led to quite _interesting _results. Right after the whole group had returned, the flaxen haired young man immediately blamed the occurrence on the heat and the sun and heat affecting his behavior, trying to ignore the intense beating in his chest when he reminisced the warm sensation of Kagura's lips on his.

Now, as the flaxen haired young man observed her soundly sleeping, he couldn't help but notice how much he could just swoop down and capture her lips in his once more. Realizing this, Sougo immediately jolted away and straightened himself up, not wanting a repeat of what had happened at the beach to occur.

A couple of days after the incident between Sougo and Kagura had occurred, the vermilion haired Yato started to avoid the older male, much to his annoyance and frustration. Every time she had suspected that he was in the surrounding vicinity, she had hastily fled the site, not once looking back in his direction. Multiple times he had tried to confront her about it, and multiple times she had ignored him, too preoccupied with planning her escape.

In mere days, any semblance of their rivalry and harmless banter had been reduced to nothing, and that didn't bode well with Sougo. Having no other outlet to release his frustrations besides trying to kill Hijikata, the flaxen haired Shinsengumi member had been indefinitely pissed, a scowl or snarl recurring on his smooth complexion more often than not.

"It's not my fault China looked so damn adorable. What male couldn't resist?" Sougo breathily murmured to himself, observing the sleeping Kagura all the while reminiscing about all the times he had failed to talk to her those nth amount of days ago. The flaxen haired young man then gazed at the sky, his crimson orbs narrowing in contempt at the penetrating rays of the sun.

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Sougo gratefully discarded his Shinsengumi overcoat and cravat, both items blotted with sweat, and unceremoniously plopped himself down onto the park bench Kagura was occupying, yanking out his sleeping mask and quickly putting it on.

For some reason, the idea of leaving the vermilion haired Yato by herself unnerved him, and the seat was beckoning him towards it anyways, so what was the harm in that?

_'I didn't touch her, or do anything really, so it's fine, right? It's too much of a hassle to move too, so I'll just stay here,' _Sougo silently thought over in his head, convincing himself that his actions were justifiable.

And so just like that, slumber enthusiastically welcomed him in its pitch black embrace, fluttering images of China and him the last thing Sougo saw before he lost consciousness, having quickly dozed off as well.

* * *

Kagura was jolted awake by a particularly strong heat wave enveloping her surroundings. She uttered a guttural moan of complaint at the heat before fully opening her cerulean orbs, dazed with confusion and post-nap drowsiness. Glancing around, she finally realized that she was at the park bench, where she had been for the majority of her time outside.

Deciding that Gin and Shinpachi must have been close to finishing, the vermilion haired Yato was preparing to leave.

That is, until she heard a rustling to her left and the weight of the bench shift slightly to one side as the tussling about grew more prominent.

Daring to glance to her left, her eyes widened in slight confusion and panic, not expecting in the slightest that _he, _her number one rival and a sadist to the core was going to be there, casually sleeping without a care in the world.

Usually, Kagura would have been anticipating him, seeing as he somehow managed to magically appear near her whenever she was at the park. Hell, she would have been excited even, for fate was giving her a chance to beat him to a pulp once more.

This time, however, was completely different.

The poor vermilion haired girl had been trying to avoid him the past few days, due to the incident at the beach. It wasn't the fact that he had kissed her that made her so uncharacteristically avert to the Sadist, but it was the fact that deep down, in the darkest recesses of her consciousness, she had _enjoyed _the kiss. Every time his face appeared in the back of her mind, particularly during the instances when she had nothing to do, the Yato girl would feel strange flutters in the pits of her stomach and as much as she willed her heart not to, it wouldn't stop with those erratic palpitations that occurred whenever she reminisced the time their lips locked.

For the most part, she had been successful and had cleverly evaded the prying crimson orbs and cocky demeanor of the Sadist. On the rare moments in which they did encounter, however, she had no doubt tried her absolute best to flee from the situation, using any means necessary in the process.

So of course, it was to be expected that when Kagura saw the person she had been fervently avoiding sitting right next to her, nonchalantly snoozing away like nothing ever happened, had been more than just a shock.

In one fluid motion, the vermilion haired girl had silently lifted herself off the bench, and was proceeding to sneak away, her trained Yato prowess allowing her to escape undetected. She was just about to do so too, if it wasn't for the still asleep Sougo, who had suddenly uttered a strangled whine in his slumber, making Kagura halt in her steps.

Curiously, she looked back at the older male, having half a mind to go over there, just in case there was any blackmail-suitable material she could extract from the flaxen haired male. That mindset had been quick to abandon, however, when she realized that getting closer would risk him waking up,and so Kagura spared one last glance at his sleeping form before turning around again.

Only to hastily turn around to face Sougo again when he started to inhale and exhale rapidly, almost akin to hyperventilating. Observing him, the vermilion haired girl noticed that he was sweating quite abnormally. The sticky fluid was rapidly trickling down his skin, matting wet strands of flaxen locks to his forehead. His slender fingers were twitching as he tried to unconsciously clench his fists, squirming and slightly thrashing in his seat.

Kagura stared at him for a long minute before hastily turning around again, shaking her thoughts of concern away.

_'Ignore that bastard. It's his fault for sleeping in such a sunny spot in the first place. I'm supposed to be avoiding him, too.'_

As much as she tried to convince herself to just abandon the Sadist, she couldn't stop the pang of guilt from erupting within her chest. Ever since she had been a little girl, she couldn't stomach the idea of hurting others nor just leaving them to suffer, partially due to the fact that her sick mother had greatly reinforced the idea and encouraged her to do the same.

Heaving what was the nth sigh of resignation for the day, Kagura trudged over to the flaxen haired young man, the frown etched on her pale complexion belying the worry and trepidation in her cerulean orbs.

_'You're lucky Mama taught me to be a good person, you two-faced bastard,' _the Yato girl inwardly groaned.

Her complaining and moping about was short-lived, however, when Sougo started to thrash wildly, clearly upset with something. His lips were moving, but the words he spewed were incomprehensible and broken.

When the vermilion haired girl approached him, she leaned down tentatively, staring at his sweaty face and neck. The closer she leaned in, the more she could hear the murmurs he was whispering, and soon concluded that he was having a nightmare when he started to claw at nothing.

"Must be the heat getting to him. Hah, what an idiot; why would he sleep in such a place like that?" Kagura muttered, reminding herself to chastise him when he woke up later.

Cautiously, she lowered herself down next to him, taking a seat on the park bench as well. Hesitantly, the vermilion haired girl reached her hand forward and placed it over Sougo's damp forehead, immediately recoiling at how feverish and burning he was. It didn't help one bit that his clothes were drenched in sweat and the penetrating glares of the sun's rays had yet to cease.

Not heeding the repercussions sure to come once he woke up, Kagura quickly unbuttoned the flaxen haired officer's vest, gently supporting him by the back as she slid the piece of clothing off, before just as carefully resting him back onto the bench's rest.

The vermilion haired Yato then proceeded to lean in closer, shifting her purple parasol so that it was hovering over Sougo as well, more so him than her. She then, on a whim, started to push his matted locks away, uncovering his forehead in the process.

The effect was instantaneous.

The flaxen haired officer immediately calmed down; the clenching of his fists had reduced to only a slight twitch in his fingers, and his thrashing about had ceased altogether, his breath coming out in slow, tranquil breaths.

"_Yosh, _that's a good boy," she gently cooed in amusement, reveling in such the rare sight of a vulnerable, completely unguarded Sadist Prince.

Kagura continued to pat Sougo's forehead, her own arm reaching forward and her side resting against the bench rest, the girl using her available arm as a head rest. Unbeknownst to her, a small smile had formed as she continued her ministrations, her half-lidded, cerulean orbs sparkling in mirth and affection.

Gradually, the vermilion haired girl felt the familiarly gentle caress of sleep beckon towards her, and she had absolutely no problems obliging. As the inviting darkness seeped in, a recurring thought was the only thing Kagura was able to manage before she fell into slumber.

_'Maybe this time, I'll be the better person. Hah! You better pay me back in full, Sadist.'_

* * *

Let's just say that both Sougo _and_ Gintoki had quite the heart attack when they saw a slumbering Kagura, neatly snuggled into the former's side as she shared her beloved parasol with the flaxen haired young man.

"Oi... China? Did you want me to ravish you that badly?"

"Don't you dare, Souichiro! Kagura?! Oiii, Kagura! Wake up! Please, Gin-chan's begging you! He's an old geezer now! He can't take this much shock! Kaguuraa! This is your fault, you damn sofa! What will happen to my precious, innocent daughter now?!"

The Glasses Stand of the Yorozuya merely watched in exasperation. After a long moment, he heaved an elongated sigh, grunting as he walked over to Kagura and hefted her over his back, preparing for the fairly quick trek to Snack Otose. He didn't pay heed to the currently bickering Sadist duo behind him, who had seemingly forgotten the presence of both the Glasses and the vermilion haired Yato as they argued about Kagura's seemingly destroyed innocence.

_'What a bunch of idiots.'_

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this continuation of the story! Like always, constructive criticism is gladly appreciated!**


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